The invention concerns a roller bearing equipped with rollers held between an inner and an outer race of the bearing and kept separate from one another by a bearing cage which is formed by an annular component consisting of one or more parts in which, along the circumference and at equal distances from one another, partially or fully enclosed openings have been formed within which each contains a roller.
A similar roller bearing is generally known, e.g., from the U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,866. In the known roller bearings the bearing cage--though it does not assume any of the bearing load--is of essential importance for keeping the rollers in the bearing separate from each other and at equal distances, so that there will not be any contact among them.
In the known roller bearings the bearing cage is usually made in a pressing process from metal plate such as sheet metal or sheet brass.
In the known roller bearings the friction between the rollers and the bearing cage constitutes a serious problem which may lead--especially at high speeds--to noise, excessive wear and tear and surface damage to the rollers.
The objective of the invention is to create a roller bearing of the kind mentioned above whereby the aforementioned disadvantages are avoided and whereby, in addition, the friction between the rollers and the bearing cage is reduced to a minimum.